Tile shipping package



Aug. 5, 1958 w. RowE u TILE SHIPPING PACKAGE Filed June e, 195e 2 Sheets-ShedI 1 S2 go ya' FIG. l

. INVENTOR.

' /zFowg di. JM@ MM A TTO RNE Y Aug. 5, 1958 w. RowE 'TILE SHIPPING PACKAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filedy June e, 195e A m F INVENTOR.

/oale ATTORNEY TILE SHIPPING PACKAGE William Rowe, Lewiston, Maine, assigner to Bonafide Mills, Inc., Lisbon, Maine, .a corporation of Maine Application June 6, 1956, Serial No. 589,691

6 Claims. (Cl. 20d-65) This invention relates to a novel tile shipping package and method of packing pointed tile for shipment in a rectangular shipping carton.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel shipping package particularly designed to afford protection for packaged pointed and relatively fragile tiles wherein the pointed tiles of either diamond or triangular shape are disposed within a carton in a plurality of stacks and wherein provision is made for maintaining the tiles in stacked relation and in predetermined relation to the walls of the carton and in such a manner that external blows exerted on the shipping package during shipment are either absorbed or transmitted to the sides of the stacks and not the pointed ends of the tiles in the stacks.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel package ready for shipment embodying diamond or triangular shaped `oor or wall tiles packed in a shipping carton in a novel and unique manner adapted to protect the tiles and particularly the fragile pointed ends thereof from breakage during shipment.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel method of packing pointed tile in a rectangular carton for shipment.

With these objects in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the novel tile shipping package and in a novel method of packing diamond or triangular shaped tile for shipment.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention:

Fig. l is a plan viewk of a package comprising a carton containing a plurality of stacks of at .fragile diamond shaped floor tiles embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an individual wrapper for each Vstack of articles; and

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional detail view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. l.

VIn general the present invention contemplates a novel tile shipping package and a novel method of packing pointed tile for shipment. In accordance with the invention pointed tiles of either diamond or triangular shape are packed in a earton in the form of a plurality of stacks, and novel stack retaining and also spacing members, preferably of fibrous material having moderate resiliency for the absorption of shock, are disposed to not onlyl preserve the stack formation of the tiles but also to space the stacks from the carton walls in a manner such as to prevent the pointed portions of the tiles from damage during shipment. Preferably, the structure of package is such that the effect of external blows encountered during shipment is confined to the body of the tiles remote from the relatively fragile portions.

Referring now to the drawings, in the illustrated shipping package a plurality of stacks of relatively thin, fiat, diamond shaped oor or wall tiles having sharply pointed corners 12 are grouped together and packed in a shipping carton 14, preferably of rectangular shape, in

United States Patent O ice a manner such as to protect the points or corners 12 of the tiles during handling or shipping thereof. The carton 14 may comprise any suitable material, such as corrugated fiber board, and may be provided with side and end walls having closure flaps at each end, the top closure aps comprising side flaps 16 and end flaps 1.8. The bottom of the carton may be formed in any usual or preferred manner. As herein shown, each stack 10 of the tiles may be provided with `a protective wrapper 20 formed of relatively stiff material, such las a lightweight corrugated fiber board, and forms an individual compartment arranged to be folded about the stack to protect the sides thereof with the pointed corners 12 free of contact with the wrapper and projecting beyond the wrapper 20. As shown in detail in Fig. 3, each individual wrapper 20 may comprise a diamond shaped base member 22 of substantially the sarne size as the diamond shaped tile and having four upstanding wall portions24 folded upwardlyl from the side edges of the diamond shaped base member but narrower than such side edges, the longitudinal edges 25 of the upsta'nding Ywall portions being spaced frorn'the corners of the base member so that the pointed corners 12 of the tile are free of Contact with the wrapper. Each Wall portion 24 may be provided with a bendable flap portion 26 at its upper end. The wrapper serves to space the adjacent stacks from one another and also to retain the individual tiles in stack formation.

The diamond shaped base member 22 of each protective wrapper 24B may be substantially the same size or slightly larger than 'the diamond shaped tiles, and in prac tice a stack of tiles is placed on the base member, and the upstanding wall portions 24 are folded' against the four sides of 'the stack in contiguous or snug engagement therewith and the flaps 26 bent down on the top of the stack. As herein shown, three such stacks are placed together' in the carton14 to form a hexagonal shaped group with vthe wall portions 24 of the adjacent protective Wrappers in contiguous engagement so as to form a double wall thickness spacing between adjacent stacks of tiles and arranging the individual stacks in spaced telation. Pfeferably, the hexagonal group is placed in the rectangular carton 14 with two opposed sides of the hexL agon parallel to and snugly fitted between two opposed side walls 28, 30 of the carton with the adjacent compartnient wall portions 24 intervening between the tile stacks and the side walls 28, 30 of the carton. In practice at filler members 32 of corrugated cardboard or like material may be inserted between the side walls 28', 30 and the wall portions 24 of the protective wrappers so that-tbe group will nt snugly between the carton side walls'ZS, 30 to prevent displacement of the hexagonal group laterally of the container.

From the description thus far it will be observed that the stacks "of tiles are spaced from each other and from 'the side walls 28, 30 yof the carton, and as herein shown, in order to prevent fdisplacementof the group longitudinally of thecator'i and to space the opposedfco'rne'rs 34, "36 of tle hexagonal group from the opposed end walls 38, '40 ofthe carton, each'corner of the carton is provided with a spacer 42, preferably comprisin'ga fiber board tube, tle'catori.A being proportioned relation to the hex# agonal group so that the ller tubes 42 fit snugly between the inner Walls of the adjacent corners of the carton, and an angular side of the tile stack bearing against a wall portion 24 of the protective wrapper, thus providing three bearing points for each filler tube and frictionally `supporting the hexagonal group snugly in the carton with the adjacent points of the hexagon separated a substantial distance from the end walls 38, 40 of the carton as indicated at 35. The tubes 42 bear against the mid p0rtion of the stack and not the corners thereof.

The bendable flaps 26 of each protective wrapper 20 which may be folded down flat against the top of its stack of tiles are preferably arranged so that some of the aps overlap at adjacent corners, as shown, to. provide a double thickness spacing at the top of each stack, and the carton closing aps 16, 18 respectively may then be folded down in overlapping relation on top of the flaps 26 and sealed in any usual or preferred manner, such as with gummed sealing tape, to complete the package.

From the above description it will be seen that the diamond shaped tiles are packed in stacks grouped in a manner such that the exposed corners of the tiles are spaced from each other and from the adjacent side walls of the carton with the pointed corners free of contact with any of the packing elements and that the group of stacks is frictionally maintained within the carton in a. manner such as to prevent lateral displacement of the group in any direction. It willpalso be observed that extraneous blows to which the package may be subjected during handling are transmitted to the sides of the stacks intermediate the corners. Thus, during handling and shipping of the carton it will be seen that the corners of the tiles are protected from direct Contact with the package elements and that the package may be subjected to severe handling with minimum damage to the tiles. or the corners thereof.

The illustrated tile package is preferably proportioned to pack three stacks of diamond shaped tiles which, for example, may be 12 long across the longer points and 7" wide across the remaining two points, each side also being 7 in length so that each individual tile comprises a parallelogram having equal sides, the smaller points having an included angle of 60 and the larger points having an included angle of 120; Thus, when three stacks are grouped together they form a hexagonal shape as shown. It will be apparent that a group may be formed in other geometric shapes. It will also be seen that the tiles may be formed as triangles wrapped in individual compartments and placed together in a group to form a hexagonal or other geometric shape whereby tWo opposed side walls may be frictionally engaged between two opposed sides of the packing carton, and the adjacent angularly arranged sides may be engaged by the spacing members 42 placed in the corners of the carton to support the stacks and the corners of the triangular n'les in a similar manner.

Whle the preferred embodiment of the invention has -been herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A shipping package for pointed oor tiles comprising a rectangular carton, a plurality of stacks of the pointed oor tiles snugly tted within the carton in grouped relation to form a hexagonal grouping, stack retaining means for maintaining the components of the stacks in alignment, said stack retaining means being disposed between adjacent sides of the stacks and between two of said stacks and two opposite walls of said carton to maintain the stacks in spaced relation and with the pointed portions of each stack exposed and free of engagement with the pointed .portions of adjacent stacks and with said opposite walls of said carton, said stack retaining means also being disposed at Vthe intermediate portions of each of the remaining sides of said stacks, and spacing means engaging at least the other two walls of the retaining means at said remaining carton and engaging the sides 4 of the stacks at points intermediate the pointed portions of the tiles, whereby to transmit extraneous blows to which the package is subjected in shipment to the body of the stacks intermediate the corner portions thereof and thereby minimize damage to the pointed'corners of the tiles.

2. A shipping package for diamond shaped iioor tiles comprising a carton, a plurality of stacks of the diamond shaped door tiles snugly fitting within the carton to form a hexagonal grouping and with two parallel walls of the hexagonal grouping parallel to two opposed side walls of the carton and with two opposed pointed portions of the hexagonal grouping spaced from the remaining two walls of the carton, spacing means between adjacent surfaces of the stacks and additional spacing means between the corner portions of the carton and the adjacent walls of the stacks, said additional spacing means bearing against their respective walls of the stacks at points intermediate the corner portions ofthe stacks whereby to transmit extraneous blows to which the package is subjected in shipment to the body of the stacks intermediate the corner portions thereof and thereby minimize damage to the pointed corners of the tiles.

3. A shipping packag for pointed floor tiles comprising a carton, a plurality of stacks of the pointed floor tiles snugly fitting within the carton and in grouped relation to form a hexagonal shape, stack retaining wrappers for the individual stacks, said wrappers being constructed to maintain the components of the stacks in alignment and to maintain the stacks in spaced relation with respect to each other, the pointed portions of the tiles in each stack, being exposed and with the corner portions of the grouping spaced from the side walls of the carton, two opposed walls of the hexagonal grouping being disposed closely adjacent and parallel to two side walls of the carton, two opposed corners of the hexagonal grouping being spaced from the remaining two opposed side walls of the carton, and spacing members at each corner of the carton engaging the two adjacent side walls ofthe carton and the portion of the adjacent side wall of a stack at a point spaced from the corners of the stack.

4. A shipping package as defined in claim 1 wherein the stack retaining means for each stack comprises a wrapper extending around the body of the stack and exposing each corner of the stack, said means maintaining the corners from contact.

5. A shipping package as dened in claim 2 wherein the rst mentioned spacing means comprises a wrapper around the body of each stack and exposing the corners thereof.

6. A shipping package as defined in claim 3 wherein the spacing means at the corners of the carton comprise fiber tubes.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

